Posts Tagged ‘food safe storage’

Food Grade stainless steel drums are not always storing food, but another precious life resource: water. Storing water can be tricky – crystal clear water can have dangerous bacteria growing in it, high levels of lead or mercury, chemicals, even arsenic and you wouldn’t even be able to see it. So how should you store water?

Let’s start with how you shouldn’t. First, you should never use non-food-grade materials to store food. Seems like a no brainer, but it is a common mistake. Even if it looks clean or has been sterilized, it should not be used to store food or water. Non-food-grade materials, such as a non-food-grade plastic or stainless steel can leak dangerous chemicals into anything you store in them. Non-food-grade stainless steel can be corroded by chlorine that you don’t know is in your water, and non-food-grade plastic can degrade over time or allow bacteria and other pests into the thin container.

Food grade plastics are out there, but still not widely favored for food and water storage since plastic is more porous and thus harder to sterilize. Additionally, the vapors of chemicals and fuels can penetrate plastic over time, so your storage location becomes more important.

Glass and stainless steel are the most popular water storage containers. Glass is easy to sterilize and impermeable. However, glass breaks easily, is heavy and needs to be stored away from sunlight.

So we’re left with food-grade stainless steel, arguably the strongest, safest water container. Stainless steel is light weight, easy to sterilize, impermeable and doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals that it might leech into the water. It is opaque and thus does not need to be protected from light. It’s strong and sturdy and safe. And many manufacturers, such as Skolnik Industries, offer protective linings for their food-grade stainless steel, making them even safer.

Water is a precious resource that demands to be stored with care. Use food-grade stainless steel to store your water both conveniently and effectively.